It's become a tradition that we do something together in the beginning of summer, before everyone leaves for vacation. This "something" has in the passed included more work-related activities, such as developing our working methods or competencies. But this year, due to the turbulence that's been going on, it was decided that we'd do something with a stronger focus on being and DOING something nice together that wasn't all that connected to achieving work-related results. Sailing seemed like the thing to do! Fun, being a bit of a team-building activity and definitely an experience to remember!
The boat that was chartered was in itself a remarkable one! There are three boats of its kind in Sweden. 45 feet long, weighing 12 tons and over 120 m2 of sail, fully equipped and good space for the eleven of us to work and sit comfortably for the whole trip. Our captain did a great job in keeping an eye on things and at the same time teaching us how to do what and when. Not everyone of us had been sailing before, and the ones of us that had, had never sailed a boat like this before.
Anyways, we arrived at the marina around 9am. The weather was still kinda gray, but warm and a little windy. Met up with the captain and he ran us through the safety routines. We all got these really solid rain/wind wear to put on. Felt a bit silly, since it was pretty warm, to put them on... but man! am I happy we did! We would have been totally drenched if we hadn't. We looked like a bunch of astronauts preparing for liftoff :)
The wind wasn't too bad as we went out in the first open space of sea. As we got closer to the island our captain had chosen for the lunch intake, the clouds began to crack up and flaps of bleu skies started to show. As we anchored in a calm, windless cove, the sun came out and glittered like gems in the water.
After lunch we set out again and now the wind had turned up a few knots! This was when the real fun began :) We had about five hours of pure sailing in winds between 9 to 13 meters per second. The "astronaut wear" came in very handy, since the sea decided to give us lots of showers. Even though the wind was warm, one would probably have been quite cold if one were to be soaked in cold sea water!Oh, and Annabella has requested pictures of ME! First of all, there aren't many, because I was the one holding the camera most of the time! And secondly, I'm sorry if I disappoint anyone, I'm not very keen on putting up pictures of my face here, since I'm writing this blog incognito (for reasons I might discuss here at some point). Nevertheless, someone actually caught me on video (by mistake ;-) and it so happens to prove I ran the show, at least for a while. LOL! Please, make sure NOT to have your speakers on loud! The only sound is the wind blowing (hard!) in the microphone, which doesn't sound very pretty on loud speakers...
Sailing, to me, is in so many ways much like yoga. It can be very physically demanding and is totally relaxing since you need to focus and be in the moment. Also, being so close to the elements really bring that touching-the-universe-experience. As you can see, I'd just have to reach out my hand and grab that cloud :)
21 comments:
Looks like so much fun! Good for you.
And you look great! Are at the wheel of the boat?
I think you could even have ujjayi'ed that little cloud right through your nose if you'd wanted to.
YAY! How fun! Listen to that wind! You touched the universe!
I do believe this is worth a roar, perhaps two.
oh, i commented down below, somehow! anyway, all i said, chitta, was you're extremely lovely:)
yes Alfia, that's me at the wheel! it was so much fun :)))
Carl, you are very observant. but tell me, why would i want that cloud up my nose?
Anna, i did feel like roaring!
ROAR! ROAR!
:)
oh, and Eeyore, the archipelago was extremely lovely! maybe it rubbed off?
you are still the extremeliest loveliest donkey!
Chitta, you have a loverly profile, and spunky little hairs. It must feel great to scrub your head under the shower, right? Cute!
I've never been sailing. I'm glad you had a great time. Have a nice afternoon!
LOL! and spiky! i looked like a hedgehog after all that wind in my hair :-o
it does feel great though. used to have hair all the way to my waist, very irksome to take care of... this is much more me - so thank you JS :)
hope you will get the chance to go sailing sometime.
and you have a wonderful evening!
i love that hair:)
Well have you ever sniffed clouds before? It may really be nice to sniff clouds. Little clouds floating above joy-inspiring bodies of water probably are fresh and smell quite nice.
Oh my GOSH.
You can practice later.
This is lovely.
Hi Chitta Vritti
That's a really cool post. I share your interest in sailing, and boating in general. I grew up on an Island, where there are 5 marinas of all types of sailboats and motorboats with which to go to the nearby islands. I did a lot of boating every weekend as a kid. The day you captured looked brilliant in colors.
Cheers,
Arturo
i've never sniffed clouds, no. but the way you describe it, Carl, you make me want to :)
hi Owl!
hi Arturo!
wow, growing up on an island must've been wonderful, being close to the sea all the time and being able to do boating that often :) i love the sea, all the water and the openness. you would probably like going boating in our archipelago, it's very beautiful and the scenery is, i imagine, quite different from what you are used to?
Hi Chitta Vritti
Well yes, because my situation was in the Caribbean, near the Virgin Islands. But many boat enthusiasts from our Island who can travel do enjoy visiting other places with great water and land features to visit, so I would definitely love to visit your part of the world.
Cheers,
Arturo
ooooo, the carabian! now that's somewhere i would love to go sailing some day :) quite different, yes.
CV, you'd love it... beaches, palm trees, soft sand, delicious fruits, I usually find places to practice outside at dawn with birds and the sun rising over trees and...
I need a vacation!
*sigh* that sounds just lovely :) now i have to decide where to go first when i've saved up - the states or the caribbean... i need a vacation too!
(oups, just saw my own typo up there! funny, i spelled it the way people here, by misunderstanding, pronounce it.)
WOW! It's like I can feel the fresh air right here in my flat in smoggy London. My favourite (besides you, and yes you're very cute!!) is the bottom pic in the previous post.. that one really takes me places, somehow.
thank you Susananda :) i'm happy i could bring some sea breeze for you!
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